Shahriyar I (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: شهریار) was the sixth ruler of the

Bavand dynasty The Bavand dynasty () (also spelled Bavend), or simply the Bavandids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran province) in what is now northern Iran from 651 until 1349, alternating between outright inde ...

from 817 to 825. He was the grandson and successor of

Sharwin I Sharwin I ( Persian: شروین) was the fifth ruler of the Bavand dynasty from 772 to 817. He was the son and successor of Surkhab II. Background In 760, during the reign of Sharwin's father Surkhab II, Khurshid, the head of the Dabuyid dynast ...

. Before Shahriyar became ruler of the Bavand dynasty, he was taken as hostage by

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

, where Shahriyar stayed for four years until he was allowed to return to

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

. In 817, Sharwin I died, and Shahriyar succeeded him. After Shahriyar's coronation, the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

al-Ma'mun, sent him

robes of honour A robe of honour ( ar, خلعة, khilʿa, plural , or ar, تشريف, tashrīf, pl. or ) was a term designating rich garments given by medieval and early modern Islamic rulers to subjects as tokens of honour, often as part of a ceremony of appoi ...

, and requested his and the Qarinvand ruler Qarin ibn Vindadhhurmuzd's aid in the Arab–Byzantine wars. Shahriyar declined the request, while Qarin accepted, and became successful in his campaign against the Byzantines.Ibn Isfandiyar, p. 145-156 Qarin was then bestowed with many honors by Al-Ma'mun. Shahriyar, jealous of Qarin's fame, began annexing some of the latter's territory. In 817, during the reign of Qarin's son

Mazyar Mazyar (Middle Persian: ''Māh-Izād''; Mazandarani/ fa, مازیار, Māzyār) was an Iranian prince from the Qarinvand dynasty, who was the ruler (''ispahbadh'') of the mountainous region of Tabaristan from 825/6 to 839. For his resistance to ...

, Shahriyar, with the aid of Mazyar's uncle Vinda-Umid, expelled the latter from Tabaristan, and seized all his territories. Shahriyar later died in 825, and was succeeded by his son Shapur.

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